Is "Terrorism" a Misnomer?

DO YOU feel terror? Neither do I. Maybe I did on September 11th as I watched the planes fly into the Twin Towers. But even then I don't think I could call it "terror." I felt angry and confused. Flabbergasted. Astonished. I was definitely stressed by it. But I didn't run through the streets panicking in terror.

I'll bet you can say the same. We might be dealing with an insufficient term. A more useful term is demoralism. The hot-headed Islamic supremacists are are trying to demoralize as a prelude to invading and defeating us.

In war, one of the most important psychological impacts a general tries to have on his enemy is demoralization. A demoralized enemy is easier to defeat. A demoralized enemy becomes paralyzed by indecision or cuts and runs, and in the confusion is easy to route.

Islamic supremacists have been infiltrating the western world and undermining our confidence, our clarity, and our values for decades. They chose the World Trade Center for many reasons. Among other things, the Towers were symbols of Western morale. The Jihadis' aim was to demoralize the West.

And they succeeded to some degree. My wife was talking to a woman the other day about Islam and what we must do about it and the woman responded, "I don't think they can be defeated. It is in God's hands."

Unbelievable! The woman has given up. I say this because she didn't say it like, "I will do all I can and after that, it is in God's hands." She said it like, "There is nothing I can do about it. Therefore it is in God's hands." That's defeatism.

To be demoralized means to have given up. Demoralization is the opposite of determination. When you are demoralized, you feel that no effort on your part will make any difference. For example, many people tell me they have tried educating their fellow non-Muslims about the third jihad and the response they get is either hostility or apathy. One woman told me, "It's like beating your head against a brick wall."

In other words, trying to educate the public about Islam is an exercise in futility. Many people have told me, "It's going to take a major catastrophe to wake people up." This is not too much different than, "It's in God's hands." It is saying, "I give up." It is saying, "Nothing I do will make much difference."

This attitude has to be removed from our brains, people! We can't have that kind of defeatism. If we are demoralized, the enemy has already won. We need a fighting spirit to the bitter end. Morale is a necessity.

To defeat Islamic supremacism, the most important thing that needs to be achieved is a widespread public education about it. The media will not do it. The politicians will not do it. IT IS UP TO US! It will be done one-on-one by those of us who know about the third jihad, or it won't be done.

So if you come up against what seems to be an insurmountable barrier, you should NOT decide it's impossible and start trying to explain all the reasons it cannot be done. We MUST win this fight. Failure is not an option. What you need to do is decide you will surmount that barrier or die trying. You need to confide in your allies and let us help you. We can pool our ingenuity and find a way.

Whether you are demoralized or not is UP TO YOU. The circumstances can never determine whether you will give up or not. No demoralists can make you feel demoralized without your consent. Your morale is in your control.

You must stay aware that the decision to give up or keep trying will usually function as a self-fulfilling prophecy. In other words, if you decide you're going to fail, and you give up, you have failed. Your decision has become a reality. If you decide you will find a way to succeed and you try and fail, does that mean you were wrong? No, you can try again. You can try a different way. You can study about it, learn more about it, put in the time thinking about it, talk to people about it and glean their ideas, and you can keep trying until you succeed.

Either way, your decision has become a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Awhile back, I wrote a short article with links giving you tools to help you restore another person's morale. The links go to a series of articles that you should study if you ever feel demoralized or disheartened by this work. The articles are based on rigorous scientific studies. These are not my little pet theories on what might work. People who change their explanatory style have a significantly and measurably improved power to persist in the face of obstacles, as shown by over seven hundred scientific studies. People who have developed this kind of psychological resilience have a significant and measurable improvement in their ability to succeed.

Study that material. Literally STUDY it. Do the writing exercise. Make SURE you keep your morale high, and then help the rest of us do the same. This arsenal of counter-demoralizing techniques are a powerful defense system against the relentless efforts of the demoralizers to make us throw in the towel. We will not throw in the towel. We will crush the third jihad and arise victorious!